Judges 1

And it came to pass after the death of Joshua that the children of Israel asked Jehovah, saying, Which of us shall go up against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?

2

And Jehovah said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

3

And Judah said to Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, and let us fight against the Canaanites, and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot; and Simeon went with him.

4

And Judah went up; and Jehovah delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they smote them in Bezek, ten thousand men.

5

And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fought against him, and they smote the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

6

And Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.

7

And Adoni-Bezek said, Seventy kings, with their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gleaned under my table: as I have done, so God has requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

8

And the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

9

And afterwards the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the hill-country, and in the south, and in the lowland.

10

And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron -- the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-Arba; and they slew Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.

11

And from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher.

12

And Caleb said, He that smites Kirjath-sepher and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife.

13

And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife.

14

And it came to pass as she came, that she urged him to ask of her father the field; and she sprang down from the ass. And Caleb said to her, What wouldest thou?

15

And she said to him, Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a southern land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16

And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, had gone up out of the city of palm-trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt with the people.

17

And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it; and they called the name of the city Hormah.

18

And Judah took Gazah and its border, and Ashkelon and its border, and Ekron and its border.

19

And Jehovah was with Judah; and he took possession of the hill-country, for he did not dispossess the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

20

And they gave to Caleb Hebron, as Moses had said; and he dispossessed from thence the three sons of Anak.

21

And the children of Benjamin did not dispossess the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22

And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel; and Jehovah was with them.

23

And the house of Joseph sent to search out Bethel; now the name of the city before was Luz.

24

And the guards saw a man come forth out of the city, and said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, how [we] may enter into the city, and we will shew thee kindness.

25

And he shewed them how to enter into the city. And they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family.

26

And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.

27

And Manasseh did not dispossess Beth-shean and its dependent villages, nor Taanach and its dependent villages, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its dependent villages, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its dependent villages, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its dependent villages; and the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

28

And it came to pass when Israel became strong, that they made the Canaanites tributary; but they did not utterly dispossess them.

29

And Ephraim did not dispossess the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt among them in Gezer.

30

Zebulun did not dispossess the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.

and the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not dispossess them.

33

Naphtali did not dispossess the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath; and he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, but the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became tributaries to them.

34

And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill-country, for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley.

35

And the Amorites would dwell on mount Heres, in Ajalon and in Shaalbim; but the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, and they became tributaries.

36

And the border of the Amorites was from the ascent of Akrabbim, from the rock, and upwards.

Judges 2

1

And the Angel of Jehovah came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you; and as for you,

2

ye shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not hearkened unto my voice. Why have ye done this?

3

Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be [scourges] in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

4

And it came to pass, when the Angel of Jehovah spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice and wept.

5

And they called the name of that place Bochim; and they sacrificed there to Jehovah.

6

And Joshua dismissed the people, and the children of Israel went every man to his inheritance to possess the land.

7

And the people served Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders whose days were prolonged after Joshua, who had seen all the great works of Jehovah, which he had done for Israel.

8

And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died, a hundred and ten years old.

9

And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-Heres, in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the mountain of Gaash.

10

And also all that generation were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them, which knew not Jehovah, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

11

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and served the Baals.

12

And they forsook Jehovah the God of their fathers, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods of the gods of the peoples that were round about them, and bowed themselves to them, and provoked Jehovah to anger.

13

And they forsook Jehovah, and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.

14

And the anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about; and they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

15

Whithersoever they went out the hand of Jehovah was against them for evil, as Jehovah had said, and as Jehovah had sworn unto them; and they were greatly distressed.

16

And Jehovah raised up judges, and they saved them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.

17

But they did not even hearken to their judges, for they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves to them; they turned quickly out of the way that their fathers had walked in, obeying the commandments of Jehovah; they did not so.

18

And when Jehovah raised them up judges, then Jehovah was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for it repented Jehovah because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and crushed them.

19

And it came to pass when the judge died, that they turned back and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down to them: they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.

20

And the anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel; and he said, Because this nation hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and hath not hearkened unto my voice,

21

I also will not henceforth dispossess from before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died;

22

that through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of Jehovah to walk therein, as their fathers did keep [it], or not.

23

Therefore Jehovah left those nations, without dispossessing them hastily, neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.

Judges 3

1

And these are the nations that Jehovah left, to prove Israel by them, all that had not known all the wars of Canaan;

2

only that the generations of the children of Israel might know war by learning it, at the least those who before had known nothing thereof:

3

five lord ships of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwell on mount Lebanon; from mount Baal-Hermon unto the entering into Hamath.

4

And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of Jehovah, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

5

And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites: Hittites and Amorites and Perizzites and Hivites and Jebusites;

6

and they took their daughters as wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

7

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and forgot Jehovah their God, and served the Baals and the Asherahs.

8

And the anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel served Chushan-rishathaim eight years.

9

And the children of Israel cried to Jehovah; and Jehovah raised up a saviour to the children of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.

10

And the Spirit of Jehovah was upon him, and he judged Israel; and he went out to war, and Jehovah gave Chushan-rishathaim king of Syria into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushan-rishathaim.

11

And the land had rest forty years; and Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

12

And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of Jehovah; and Jehovah strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they did evil in the sight of Jehovah.

13

And he gathered to him the children of Ammon and Amalek and went and smote Israel, and they took possession of the city of palm-trees.

14

And the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

15

And the children of Israel cried to Jehovah, and Jehovah raised them up a saviour, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a man left-handed. And by him the children of Israel sent a gift to Eglon king of Moab.

16

And Ehud made him a sword having two edges, it was of a cubit length; and he girded it under his raiment upon his right hip.

17

And he brought the gift to Eglon king of Moab; now Eglon was a very fat man.

18

And it came to pass when he had ended offering the gift, he sent away the people that had borne the gift.

19

But he turned from the graven images that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret word unto thee, O king. And he said, Be silent! And all that stood by him went out from him.

20

And Ehud came to him; now he was sitting in the cool upper-chamber, which was for him alone. And Ehud said, I have a word from God unto thee. And he arose from the seat.

21

Then Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the sword from his right hip, and thrust it into his belly;

22

and the haft also went in after the blade, and the fat closed upon the blade; for he did not draw the sword out of his belly, and it came out between the legs.

23

And Ehud went out into the portico, and shut the doors of the upper-chamber upon him, and bolted them.

24

And when he was gone out, the servants of the [king] came and saw, and behold, the doors of the upper-chamber were bolted. And they said, Surely he is covering his feet in the summer chamber.

25

And they waited till they were ashamed; and behold, he opened not the doors of the upper-chamber, and they took the key, and opened [them], and behold, their lord lay dead on the earth.

26

And Ehud had escaped while they lingered, and passed beyond the graven images, and escaped to Seirah.

27

And it came to pass when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the hill-country of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the hill-country, and he before them.

28

And he said to them, Follow after me, for Jehovah has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of the Jordan toward Moab, and suffered no one to pass over.

29

And they slew the Moabites at that time, about ten thousand men, all fat, and all men of valour, and not a man escaped.

30

And Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest eighty years.

31

And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath; and he smote the Philistines, six hundred men, with an ox-goad. And he also delivered Israel.

Judges 4

1

And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of Jehovah; now Ehud was dead.

2

And Jehovah sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the captain of his army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth-Goim.

3

And the children of Israel cried to Jehovah; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and he mightily oppressed the children of Israel twenty years.

4

And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, judged Israel at that time.

5

And she dwelt under the palm-tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim; and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

6

And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-Naphtali, and said to him, Hath not Jehovah the God of Israel commanded? Go and draw towards mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun,

7

and I will draw unto thee, to the torrent Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, and his chariots and his multitude, and I will give him into thy hand.

8

And Barak said to her, If thou goest with me, then I will go, but if thou goest not with me, I will not go.

9

And she said, I will by all means go with thee, only that it will not be to thine honour upon the way which thou goest, for Jehovah will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

10

And Barak called together Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and there went up at his feet ten thousand men; and Deborah went up with him.

11

(Now Heber the Kenite had severed himself from the Kenites, from the children of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far as the oak of Zaannaim, which is by Kedesh.)

12

And they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to mount Tabor.

13

Then Sisera gathered together all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth-Goim to the torrent Kishon.

14

And Deborah said to Barak, Up; for this is the day in which Jehovah hath given Sisera into thy hand! Is not Jehovah gone out before thee? And Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

15

And Jehovah discomfited Sisera, and all the chariots, and all the army, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera got down from [his] chariot, and fled on foot.

16

And Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the army, to Harosheth-Goim; and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not one was left.

17

And Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

18

And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And he turned in to her, into the tent, and she covered him with the quilt.

19

And he said to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink, for I am thirsty. And she opened the flask of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.

20

And he said to her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be if any one come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.

21

And Jael Heber's wife took a tent-pin, and took the hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and smote the pin into his temples, and it penetrated into the ground; for he had fallen into a deep sleep and was faint; and he died.

22

And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael went out to meet him, and said to him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And he went into her [tent], and behold, Sisera lay dead, and the pin was in his temples.

23

So God subdued on that day Jabin king of Canaan before the children of Israel.

24

And the hand of the children of Israel ever advanced, and prevailed against Jabin king of Canaan, until they had cut off Jabin king of Canaan.

Judges 5

1

Then sang Deborah and Barak, the son of Abinoam, on that day, saying,

2

For that leaders led in Israel, For that the people willingly offered themselves, Bless Jehovah!

3

Hear, ye kings; give ear, ye princes, I, [even] I, will sing to Jehovah; I will hymn to Jehovah the God of Israel.

4

Jehovah, when thou wentest forth from Seir, When thou marchedst out of the fields of Edom, The earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, Yea, the clouds dropped water.

5

The mountains quaked before the face of Jehovah, That Sinai, from before Jehovah the God of Israel.

6

In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, The roads were unused, and the travellers on highways went by crooked paths.

7

The villages ceased in Israel, Ceased until that I Deborah arose, That I arose a mother in Israel.

8

They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: Was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?

9

My heart is toward the governors of Israel, who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless Jehovah!

10

Ye that ride on white she-asses, ye that sit on carpets, and ye that walk by the way, consider.

11

Because of the voice of those who divide [the spoil] in the midst of the places of drawing water; There they rehearse the righteous acts of Jehovah, His righteous acts toward his villages in Israel. Then the people of Jehovah went down to the gates.

He asked water, she gave milk; In the nobles' bowl she brought forth cream.

26

She put her hand to the tent-pin, And her right hand to the workmen's hammer; And she smote Sisera, she struck through his head, Shattered and pierced through his temples.

27

Between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: Between her feet he bowed, he fell; Where he bowed, there he fell, overcome.

28

Them other of Sisera looketh out at the window, And crieth through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the trampings of his chariots?

29

The wise amongst her ladies answer [her], Yea, she returneth answer to herself,

30

Have they not found, divided the booty, A damsel, two damsels, to each? A booty of dyed stuffs for Sisera, A booty of dyed stuffs of embroidery, Dyed stuff of double embroidery for the neck of a spoiler?

31

So let all thine enemies perish, Jehovah! But let them that love him be as the rising of the sun in its might. And the land had rest forty years.

Judges 6

1

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Jehovah; and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

2

And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites the children of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.

3

And it came to pass when Israel sowed, that Midian came up, and Amalek, and the children of the east, and came up against them.

4

And they encamped against them, and destroyed the produce of the land, until thou come to Gazah, and they left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

5

For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were without number; and they entered into the land to destroy it.

6

And Israel was greatly impoverished because of Midian. And the children of Israel cried to Jehovah.

7

And it came to pass when the children of Israel cried to Jehovah because of Midian,

8

that Jehovah sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;

9

and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land,

10

and I said to you, I am Jehovah your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell. But ye have not hearkened to my voice.

11

And an angel of Jehovah came and sat under the terebinth that was in Ophrah, that [belonged] to Joash the Abi-ezrite. And his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, to secure [it] from the Midianites.

12

And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him, and said to him, Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

13

And Gideon said to him, Ah my Lord, if Jehovah be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where are all his miracles that our fathers told us of, saying, Did not Jehovah bring us up from Egypt? And now Jehovah hath cast us off, and given us into the hand of Midian.

14

And Jehovah looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have not I sent thee?

15

And he said to him, Ah Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my thousand is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.

16

And Jehovah said to him, I will certainly be with thee; and thou shalt smite Midian as one man.

17

And he said to him, If now I have found favour in thine eyes, shew me a sign that it is thou who talkest with me.

18

Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.

19

And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid of the goats, and an ephah of flour in unleavened cakes: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the terebinth, and presented it.

20

And the Angel of God said to him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.

21

And the Angel of Jehovah put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. And the Angel of Jehovah departed out of his sight.

22

And Gideon perceived that he was an angel of Jehovah; and Gideon said, Alas, Lord Jehovah! for because I have seen an angel of Jehovah face to face ...

23

And Jehovah said to him, Peace be unto thee: fear not; thou shalt not die.

24

And Gideon built there an altar to Jehovah, and called it Jehovah-shalom. To this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.

25

And it came to pass the same night, that Jehovah said to him, Take the young bullock, which thy father hath, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the Asherah that is by it;

26

and build an altar to Jehovah thy God upon the top of this strong place in the ordered manner, and take the second bullock, and offer up a burnt-offering with the wood of the Asherah that thou shalt cut down.

27

And Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Jehovah had said to him. And it came to pass, because he feared his father's house, and the men of the city, if he did it by day, that he did it by night.

28

And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered up upon the altar that was built.

29

And they said one to another, Who has done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.

30

And the men of the city said to Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die, because he has broken down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the Asherah that was by it.

31

And Joash said to all that stood near him, Will *ye* contend for Baal? or will *ye* save him? he that contends for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning. If he be a god, let him plead for himself, because they have broken down his altar.

32

And on that day they called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead with him, because he has broken down his altar.

33

And all Midian and Amalek and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel.

34

And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Gideon, and he blew the trumpet, and the Abi-ezrites were gathered after him.

35

And he sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and they also were gathered after him; and he sent messengers to Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

36

And Gideon said to God, If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said,

37

behold, I put a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor; if dew shall be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the ground, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said.

38

And it was so. And when he rose up early on the morrow, he pressed the fleece together, and wrung dew out of the fleece, a bowl-full of water.

39

And Gideon said to God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once! Let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it, I pray thee, be dry upon the fleece only, and upon all the ground let there be dew.

40

And God did so that night, and it was dry upon the fleece only, but on all the ground there was dew.